Nordkapp - Honningsvåg
Story of King Karl & Honningsvåg
Karl was the king of Honningsvag, small as it may be
And owned every bit of land there, as far as eye could see...
He loved cycling, and he loved his subjects, but one thing he loved even more shoes..
Shoes were not just his passion, but his obsession, or so goes the lore...
But it so happened that the kingdom faced a very severe drought...
For years and years, there was no rain, and people had to really suffer a lot...
Karl emptied the coffers of his palace, and bought food and water from other lands...
And every evening, he came outside his palace, and gave it all away with his very own hands...
But still, it was not enough, the foreigner traders demanded even more money for supplies...
Karl was distraught, for there was neither money nor gold, and he couldn’t bear his hungry people’s cries...So he called them for a meeting, and got down on his knees..And begged them to feed his people and let go of their fees, but the traders were hard-boiled specimens, they simply refused, and told the king there is still a large treasure left, you’ve not really given us everything...The king was confused, and said- There’s no gold left in the coffers, I’m not playing a ruse..And the traders replied- Your biggest treasure is still with you, O king, your spectacular collection of exquisite shoes...
The king was horrified, it was like taking a child away from his parent, or even worse, but he could see no avenue of escape in front of him, there was just nothing else left in his purse...So he bade his shoes goodbye, aware that he would never see them again...The tears in his eyes were just a small reflection of his deep, tremendous pain. And as the first tear fell to the ground, so did the first drop of rain...
For the Gods could take it no more, they could not let Karl’s sacrifice go in vain...
It rained hard, like the Gods themselves were crying, it rained like it’d never rained before...
And barefoot, Karl cycled his way to the top of the hill, till his feet got blistered and sore, and there he still stands, with a broken heart, but proudly standing tall, looking over his land, and his people, whom he loved above all
And owned every bit of land there, as far as eye could see...
He loved cycling, and he loved his subjects, but one thing he loved even more shoes..
Shoes were not just his passion, but his obsession, or so goes the lore...
But it so happened that the kingdom faced a very severe drought...
For years and years, there was no rain, and people had to really suffer a lot...
Karl emptied the coffers of his palace, and bought food and water from other lands...
And every evening, he came outside his palace, and gave it all away with his very own hands...
But still, it was not enough, the foreigner traders demanded even more money for supplies...
Karl was distraught, for there was neither money nor gold, and he couldn’t bear his hungry people’s cries...So he called them for a meeting, and got down on his knees..And begged them to feed his people and let go of their fees, but the traders were hard-boiled specimens, they simply refused, and told the king there is still a large treasure left, you’ve not really given us everything...The king was confused, and said- There’s no gold left in the coffers, I’m not playing a ruse..And the traders replied- Your biggest treasure is still with you, O king, your spectacular collection of exquisite shoes...
The king was horrified, it was like taking a child away from his parent, or even worse, but he could see no avenue of escape in front of him, there was just nothing else left in his purse...So he bade his shoes goodbye, aware that he would never see them again...The tears in his eyes were just a small reflection of his deep, tremendous pain. And as the first tear fell to the ground, so did the first drop of rain...
For the Gods could take it no more, they could not let Karl’s sacrifice go in vain...
It rained hard, like the Gods themselves were crying, it rained like it’d never rained before...
And barefoot, Karl cycled his way to the top of the hill, till his feet got blistered and sore, and there he still stands, with a broken heart, but proudly standing tall, looking over his land, and his people, whom he loved above all
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| King Karl statue on hill above Honningsvåg |
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| Shoes are now used in town for flower pots in memory of King Karl |
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| city troll |
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| another troll in the side of the moutain |
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| Honningsvåg kirke |
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| an undersea tunnel connecting the island of Magerøya to the mainland. |
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| Sundog or Sunbow over Honningsvåg |
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| port of Honningsvåg - a popular stop for Hurtigruten on it's northern tour |
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| midnight sun at north cape |
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| North Cape - northern most point on European Continent that can be accessed by car. |
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| Globe at North Cape |
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| North Cape overlooking the meeting of the Norwegian Sea & Barents Sea - part of the Arctic Ocean |
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| Statue of Bamse - Heroic WWII dog |
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| Always interesting for the locals to take a stroll around town and see what all the tourists are doing. |
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